Receiving tenure could be a major milestone in a teacher's career. Unfortunately for PK-12 educators though, states and districts have long abdicated their responsibility, making the prestigious perfunctory. Until 2009, not a single state was seriously considering a teacher's performance when they made their tenure decision.
How times have changed. Today, nine states make student learning the deciding factor in tenure decisions.
A recent study from Marcus Winters explores the impact of using value added measures in tenure decisions. Winters hypothesized several models for deciding tenure, applying a low, medium or high bar for earning it against different combinations of data (multi-year average, recent year data only, or two-year consecutive).
Turns out that any of these configurations would have pointed a district in the right direction overall. But they also produced quite a bit of variance in the numbers of teachers who were denied tenure. Interestingly, the model relying on two consecutive years of data proved more forgiving -- that is, giving more teachers tenure -- than the one that was based on an average of several years of data.
Winters sums up the balance: "If student achievement is our most pressing concern, we need to consider the possible consequences of VAM-based policies on whole districts, even as we acknowledge the potential for error in individual cases."
How times have changed. Today, nine states make student learning the deciding factor in tenure decisions.
A recent study from Marcus Winters explores the impact of using value added measures in tenure decisions. Winters hypothesized several models for deciding tenure, applying a low, medium or high bar for earning it against different combinations of data (multi-year average, recent year data only, or two-year consecutive).
Turns out that any of these configurations would have pointed a district in the right direction overall. But they also produced quite a bit of variance in the numbers of teachers who were denied tenure. Interestingly, the model relying on two consecutive years of data proved more forgiving -- that is, giving more teachers tenure -- than the one that was based on an average of several years of data.
Winters sums up the balance: "If student achievement is our most pressing concern, we need to consider the possible consequences of VAM-based policies on whole districts, even as we acknowledge the potential for error in individual cases."